The Extra Mile: I Drive Smart - A Tool To Keep Teen Drivers Safe

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- New teenage drivers have a lot to deal with these days. Their many distractions, mixed together with inexperience, can be a recipe for disaster. It's a right of passage that takes education in the classroom and hours of training behind the wheel. I Drive Smart's Tom Pecoraro takes new students for a spin, literally, which puts a little fear in them, too. By putting kids in the Skid Car, they can recreate any weather scenario, any road scenario and experience what it's like to be out of control, even in a controlled environment at 7-10 miles an hour.

Parent Jeff Paper says he keeps the conversation about safe driving with his son, "It's scary in the very beginning, but you do get used to it, they have to realize they have a lot to learn, and they have to always be aware of the other drivers around them."

Pecoraro now uses the new 'Risk Disk' to make sense of it all for parent. It assesses risks based on time of day, number of passengers in the car, and their experience. He says 6 months is the magic month, within the 6 months your driver is within the highest risk.

Teen driver Alex Paper says after riding the Skid Car, the reality of the risks hit home, "When you don't have control of the vehicle and your skidding you can hit anything on the road, if you skid like that on the main road you could easily hit a car."

For more information on the Skid Car and I Drive Smart Programs, log on to : www.idrivesmart.com